Characterising Embodied Energy in Construction Activities Using Energy Inventory Life Cycle Assessment Method

Abstract

Energy consumption of buildings accounts for almost a third of total energy use worldwide, leading to greater efforts in the industry and academia to reduce energy consumption in the built environment. This paper proposes an inventory method integrated within a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) framework to characterise the energy consumption in the building phase of construction projects early in the construction design process. The proposed approach relies on Data Quality Indicators (DQI) and a Pedigree Matrix to quantify the building’s Direct Component of Initial Embodied Energy (DCIEE). In addition, a real case study involving various construction technologies representative of contemporary practice is adopted for validation purposes. Results indicate that the DCIEE of the case study building is 0.481 GJ/m2, which is slightly higher than that of other studies in the literature that report energy consumption per m2 of the construction project, mostly due to material transportation being a major contributor in the case study analysed.